Greg Irons (1947~1984) was an artist well known for his music concert posters and comics. He was a man of many artistic talents including a role as an animator on the 1968 British film The Beatles: Yellow Submarine.
His fascination with tattoos eventually led him to become a tattoo artist, even being set to work with Don Ed Hardy himself. However, a tragic bus accident leading to his death while vacationing in Thailand would prevent this from happening.
The world will never know what magic would have come out of Hardy and Irons tattooing together, but nevertheless he is a legend in the tattooing community.
His impact is undeniable, and his art influenced many artists including Kings Avenue Tattoo’s own Mike Rubendall and Justin Weatherholtz.
Weatherholtz discovered Greg Irons through working at Kings Avenue Tattoo. He would often hear Rubendall and Grez talking about Irons and his work, especially how he drew water.
Weatherholtz discovers more about Irons in the book You Call This Art?! A Greg Irons Retrospective, making a deeper connection learning they both had many things in common- like their love for music, comics and that they were both originally from Pennsylvania.
One of Irons’ most well known works include his illustrative interpretations of the famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Both Weatherholtz and Rubendall were inspired by this portfolio of work. The influence is visible in Weatherholtz design for a t-shirt appropriately called “Ode to Irons,” and in Rubendall’s original painting titled “Great Waves.”
Although the tattooing career of Greg Irons was cut short by his passing, the extent of his influence in the tattooing world was remarkable. Weatherholtz believes this was in part because Irons’ style of art was very suitable for tattooing.
Weatherholtz owns several original pieces of art by Greg Irons, including an illustration he did for a tattoo designed for fellow tattooer Terry Tweed. You can see the art in the image below with a photo of Tweed and the finished tattoo.
Greg Irons came to be one of Justin Weatherholtz’ favorite artists, inspiring him in his approach to art and tattooing. We leave you with the work of Weatherholtz influenced by Irons. In some ways, artists and their art can live forever as a little bit of them are injected into the art of those who they inspired.
